The
Eagle Creek Golf Club in Willmar, Minnesota was established in 1931
and expanded to 18 holes in 1962. Nestled between Willmar Lake and
Swan Lake, Eagle Creek is an idyllic setting for golf. For at least
seven months out of the year, area golfers and tourists enjoy the
pleasant vistas and the unique challenges of this mature course.

Course
superintendent, Tom (Woody) Wodash, and his staff take pride in
well groomed greens and fairways and hazardous roughs, traps and
water features. The eighth hole has long been a special challenge
for Woody and his crew. Drives from this tee land on a low, out
of sight, area. This area is on the near side of a stream that separates
it from the green. Rain could turn this charming approach into a
water hazard! Furthermore, it was impossible to keep healthy turf
growing in this area.

A Multi-Flow
drainage system was selected to address the problem. First, the
optimum drainage path was selected with help from a laser level.
A 400 series Dingo™ by Toro with a 36 X 4 inch trencher attachment
made quick work of the trenching. An 18 inch deep cut was made for
the 12-inch Multi-Flow line. A 12-inch trench was dug for the 6-inch
Multi-Flow lines. This allowed the top of the collector lines to
rest 6 inches below the surface. All cuts were 4 inches wide.

Multi-Flow arrived at the site in 150 foot rolls. 12-inch Multi-Flow
was rolled out along the first 115 feet of trench. 6-inch Multi-Flow
was used for a branch line off to the left. Twenty feet later, a
similar 6-inch branch was installed off to the right. A Multi-Purpose
12” to 6” with 6” Wye Left (#1200B) allowed the
12-inch Multi-Flow to step down to a 6-inch line and also accommodated
a 6-inch branch off to the left.

A standard
3-inch elbow was attached to the bottom of a 12” Multi-Purpose
Outlet (#1200M) to connect the collector line to a PVC discharge
pipe. The outlet assembly was attached to the end of the collector
line and lowered into the trench.

Clean,
very coarse sand was selected for a backfill medium. The sand will
allow water to flow through quickly but will intercept particles
of clay and silt that might otherwise block the filter. The sand
backfill was brought up nearly to the surface. The trench will act
much like a long surface inlet.